AFTER TRAYVON

05.13.12

Warning Shot Gets FL Woman 20 Years

In a ruling that seems to have little ground on which to stand, Marissa Alexander of Jacksonville, Fla., was sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot to frighten her bullying husband. Alexander tried to defend herself using Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, which came to national attention after a neighborhood watchman shot Florida teen Trayvon Martin in February. The case was prosecuted by Angela Corey, the same Florida prosecutor who is handling the case against Martin’s shooter. Congresswoman Corrine Brown accosted Corey after the sentencing, telling the state attorney, “There is no justification for 20 years. All the community was asking for was mercy and justice.”